Artist: Mare Edstrom

Title: Inside The Blues

Genre: Blues-Rock

Label: Spiritone Records

Website: http://www.spiritonerecords.com/MareEdstrom.htm

Mare Edstrom should have titled her CD The Blues Are Inside Her instead of Inside The Blues. It becomes obvious by listening to her new release that the blues is a part of her soul and makeup. The one thing I found interesting was that she sounds as if she is a classically trained vocalist, at times bordering on an operatic vocal style. While she handles each track with authority, I honestly think her voice was made for jazz. She almost sounds too classy for this genre, and to top it off she looks like the girl next door. I thought you were supposed to look tough and roughshod, as if you have lived the blues. Well, this my friends is a perfect example of the old adage-You can’t judge a book by its cover.

It all just does not seem to fit, yet when you hear her belt out “Rollin and Tumblin’/Got Mud in My Soul” or the emotional closer “In My Time of Dyin’” she makes a believer out of you. I sure became one once this CD was complete. One of the best tracks, a real scorcher, is “Stop Breakin’ Down Blues.” It really smokes straight on through. The guitar playing on this CD is exemplary, it is the key in getting the tracks meaning conveyed to the listener with conviction, and Edstrom’s voice rides the tide that the six-string creates.

Well there you have it, one of the more interesting blues-rock artists I have come across in a long time. Hey, the Red Sox won the World Series, so why not?

© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck-http://www.muzikreviews.com

November 22, 2004

Rating-8/10

01. Treat Me So Low Down

02. That’s Alright

03. Cherry Wine

04. Statesboro Blues

05. North Memphis Blues

06. Tried So Hard

07. The Thrill Is Gone

08. Can’t Be Satisfied

09. I Feel the Same

10. Spiderman Blues

11. Tell Me

12. Rolln’ and Tumblin’/Got Mud in My Soul

13. Stop Breakin’ Down Blues

14. In My Time of Dyin’